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Prepare yourselves for the best homemade Crispy Sesame Beef that tastes BETTER than take-out! Yes, it’s possible, and not all that hard to do either! Try it out tonight and see for yourself! Need more take-out inspiration? Try my Orange Chicken next.
Crispy Sesame Beef.
It’s my husband’s favorite Asian food probably of all time. For ever and ever. When we were first married, I’d show him I’d love him by buying him sesame beef. From Safeway of all places. {I know, sacrelig.}
I don’t know why its taken me this long to recreate my own version but alas, here she blows.
I made this once when my sister was visiting a few weeks ago and then I had to make it again because {1} it was THAT good {2} my husband was like “um, make THAT again. Like yesterday” and {3} I knew it was better than anything I could get at any restaurant/Safeway {?!} because its made exactly the way I like it.
A little plug to cook at home.
So, yes, this recipe. It’s BOMB. Sweet, spicy, crispy and just makes you want to yell out loud in all the right ways.
That was an awkward last sentence.
…………..
ANYWAYS.
Moral of the story: this needs to be made in your kitchen. Like, yesterday. –from Gordon
Have a lovely day, friends!!
More Meaty Recipes to Try!
- Asian Beef Tacos
- Kung Pao Chicken (Family Favorite!)
- Korean Beef
- Beef and Broccoli
- Homemade Teriyaki Chicken
Better Than Take-Out Crispy Sesame Beef
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs sirloin steak
- 4-5 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1/2 gallon canola oil I know its a lot you guys....just accept it ya'lls
- salt to taste
for the sauce:
- 1 1/2 cups sweet chili sauce
- 4 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons honey
- sesame seeds for garnish
Instructions
- Cut sirloin steak across the grain into 1/4 inch-thick pieces and place into a large bowl. Sprinkle with 3 tablespoons cornstarch. Stir to coat each piece in corn starch and set aside.
- In a large, deep pot, pour in oil and bring up to 350-375 degrees. {You want about 4-6 inches of oil in your pot.}
- The meat will absorb the cornstarch slightly, so sprinkle in 1-2 more tablespoons to coat everything again. Stir to ensure all the pieces of meat are separated from each other and evenly coated. This means extra crunchy beef!
- Once the oil has come up to temp, drop in about 1/3 of the meat and stir with a spider skimmer/strainer thingy-ma-jig or slotted spoon.
- Cook the meat until browned and crispy. Drain onto paper towels and sprinkle with salt. Continue cooking the meat in batches until its all cooked.
- In a large skillet, heat all ingredients for sauce until warmed. Add in crispy beef and stir to coat and heat thoroughly.
- Serve over rice with sesame seeds and parsley, if desired.
What about the sauce or am I just blind
Hi Zabrina, it’s right there in the recipe card.
Loved this dish! Fairly easy to make and just ridiculously good. Will definitely be making again. Thanks for sharing.
My family loves this dish at our local Chinese restaurant. Can’t wait to try this. It’s on the menu!
Made this for dinner a few nights ago – big hit!
Can you confirm the amount of Sweet Chili Sauce? The amount it said when I accessed it through the meal plan is different than here.
The amount on the meal plans is probably different because it’s meant for a smaller or larger serving size. If you’re on the 2-4 person meal plan, we size those down.
[…] if you feel like you need some protein with this meal check out my Korean Beef Recipe or Better Than Take-Out Crispy Sesame Beef. Chicken or shrimp would be super good […]
[…] Better than Take-Out Sesame Beef […]
Would an air fryer work to cook the meat so you could skip the oil all together?
Trader Joe’s has a really good sweet chili sauce
[…] Better Than Take-Out Crispy Sesame Beef […]
The beef look so delicious bat can I cook chicken instead.
Yes!
[…] everything. Ever since I made these Thai Chicken Bites {and this Thai Chicken Pizza….and this Better than Take-out Crispy Sesame Beef} I’ve had this sauce in my pantry. It has slowly become a staple and it’s the perfect […]
Delicious!!! I am allergic to corn so I substituted potato starch. Thank you for sharing, I can now enjoy my favorites without fear of getting sick.
I never, ever make things that require frying in oil, but this looked so good, and my kids love Chinese take-out I decided to give it a go. It really was awesome, and quite easy. I admit I didn’t use quite as much oil…I used quite a bit, but not a half gallon. I think it still worked out just fine. I also added broccoli to this recipe. My kids loved it!!!
Is cornflour the same as cornstarch? The cornflour I have it a liquid that you pour. Amy from the UK.
I’ve never purchased sweet chili sauce. What brand do I buy? Thank you.
Sounds easy and tasty. I’ll try it!!!
This recipe is delicious. The crunch of the meat strips combined with the sauce is perfect. The cup and a half of sauce was too much, – I ended up tossing about 3/4 cup away…so next time I will adjust . I will definitely make this again!
This recipe is absolutely amazing. I made it last year and misplaced the recipe, I almost cried today when I tried to find it online and could not at first. I will be printing multiple copies and bookmarking this page so I never lose it again!!!
The beef turns out so perfectly crispy and the sauce complements the dish so well. Also, if you fry the beef in a tall pot, it doesn’t get messy at all.
Made this tonight…it’s SO stupid good! Much easier than I thought too, I’ve been afraid to tackle Chinese food. Fear abolished, this recipe will grace my table lots in the near future, I can tell. Not one strip left over, we ate it all (and a delivery to my parents down the road)
Our Costco sells the best, most tender sirloin steaks, so we bought a 3 lb pack (smallest they had) and made it all. Since it was doubled meat, I was going to double the sauce, but that just seemed like SO much sauce. So, doubled meat, 1.5 times the sauce and it still made plenty. Next time, I’ll add some veggies (broccoli, red pepper strips, scallion lengths and snow peas) to add some veg, and color. Won’t be typical sesame beef, but a mighty tasty meal. Lauren, this recipe is a home run!
Thank you so much for these easy and delicious recipes !!
Can’t wait to try this recipe! Can I use flank steak instead?
Hi, Lauren. Read yur blog every day and have a lot of recipes saved. What is exactly “sweet chili sauce” or “chili sauce”? There are so many different varieties in the supermarkets in Utah to choose from. Is it the one that comes in small, almost oval-sized glass jars or the ones that come in large plastic squirtable bottles? It’s confusing. Thanks and keep up the great work. Suggestion: would like to see more slow cooker or crockpot (as some people call it) recipes. Thanks.
Red Hot makes a delicious Sweet Chili Sauce…try it. It’s good with chicken, shrimp etc.
Gotta be honest. We didn’t love the sauce. But it was a yummy way to cook the beef.
I made the sauce & used it for a beef & broccoli stir fry. DEE. LISH. And only 4 ingredients! Boring “meh” stir fries are now a distant memory. Thank you 🙂
Lauren, just a thank you for posting your recipes. I’ve enjoyed cooking a few of them–all good, and just wanted to take a moment for thanks for sharing. How you do it with family is amazing to me. Keep it up.
Delish!! It got rave reviews from my husband, too who said that the only thing that would make it better was some wonton soup and an egg roll on the side! 🙂
We also just pan fried the beef in a little olive oil, made extra sauce and added broccoli…then served all over jasmine rice!! It was so good!!! Thanks for the great recipe!
Tried this tonight and it was so freaking good! I do not usually deep fry anything, but it was definitely worth it. I would never have gotten the same results baking or sauteing. This was super easy to throw together–it would even be great on a work night. If sirloin was cheaper I would put this into the very regular rotation. I used Thai Kitchen sweet chili sauce tonight, but just bought some from Trader Joe’s the other day.
I just know the takeaway loving man in my house is going to love this! Definitely need to make this, like yesterday, too 🙂
Lauren…A couple of hours ago I got on my email thinking about dinner tonight and saw your post. It looked and sounded really good. I had the beef in the freezer and the rest of the ingredients in the pantry and frig. I thought Hey why not give it try. And am I glad I did. Lauren it is DELICIOUS!!! We all loved it. And it’s so easy. You have a winner here and I’ll be making it again. But then you always have great recipes and ideas. So a BIG thankyou for dinner tonight!
This looks really good…..like can I have some NOW please? However I typically don’t deep fry. Not because of the calories involved but more because I hate to waste stuff and it just seems like such a waste. Maybe we will have to eat out at a Chinese food restaurant soon.
What is chili sauce
Dutton’s buttons
OMG! This is so happenig soon. I can’t wait!
I love this recipe but ypu can cook the beef in a lot less oil….About an inch or 2.
I live in a very small mountain community and I do not prefer the only Chinese Restaurant in town so now I can recreate my favorite dish, thank you bunches!
This looks incredible. I’m always looking for ways to get away from takeout, and this is perfection. Can’t wait to try it!
Approximately how long does the beef need to cook in the oil?
This looks like an amazing recipe! Though I’m kind of scared about all that oil for deep frying!
Why not just saute it up in a fry pan instead?
I’m sure the sauce is what makes it so good.
One of my all time favs as well, this looks incredible! Can’t wait to try this recipe.